XFX GTX260 Black Edition Review

Introduction:

"Back in Black I hit the sack I've been too long I'm glad to be back...." oops wrong story! It was just the first thing that hit me when I saw this card From XFX. Black can be good or bad, in this case its good. The Black Edition GTX260 from XFX is something a little special. This card is the revised version that gets an increase in the amount of shader processor cores from 192 to 216, an increase of 24 that puts it just 24 cores short of the amount used in the GTX280. Not only do we have the increased shader core count, but this card is factory overclocked to 666MHz on the GT200 core - yes 666MHz - just a little dark humor right before Halloween it seems. The 896 MB of GDDR3 memory gets a bump to 1150MHz with the shaders moving to 1404MHz. All of these clock speeds are significant increases from the factory stock settings. The increase in shader cores, the increase in clock speeds hhmmmm ... this all should add up to a package that offers a pretty stunning improvement in performance over the overclocked EVGA FTW and the stock cards we have looked at.

Closer Look:

The Black Edition packaging is dark. The front is almost entirely black with the backdrop being a "Black Hole". The Black Edition lettering looks like it was from a 70's game show and detracts from the overall impact. Other than that, the front panel highlights the 666MHz core clock speed, the model designation, amount of GDDR3 memory, and the inclusion of a DVI to HDMI adapter. Assassins Creed is the game sent with this card. For the retail versions, the Bundle will include Far Cry2 as the game that is included. XFX Did supply OCC with a copy once it was available. The rear panel highlights the feature set and talks in greater detail about the physx and HD aspects of the GTX260 216 core Black Edition.

Regardless of the outside artwork, XFX is consistent with their internal packaging. The Lime green box is always there and lets you know just who's product you are working with. Flipping the lid you will find the product documentation. Under this, a layer of foam is pulled back to reveal the GTX260 and the accessory bundle. Each of the video cards I have looked at were protected much better than some of their competitors.

The accessory bundle included with the "Black Edition" GTX260 includes the Quick start guide, manual, connection diagram, do not disturb door tag, game and driver disks, S/PDIF cable, DVI to D-Sub adapter, DVI to HDMI adapter and a 7-pin HDTV out dongle. The Black Edition is a Special card and comes with its own club. The price of admission to this elite club is the Black Edition video card. Members receive Priority technical support, special members only product offers and invitations to members only special events as well as a Black Edition case badge and membership card.